‘Invisible is a great thriller. I can’t say too much more about the plot because the twists and turns are the whole point of reading a book that wrong foots the reader at every turn . . . Christine Poulson kept me reading by giving out just enough information to intrigue and puzzle so that I had to read just one more chapter. That’s why, in the end, I just dropped everything else and read the last half of Invisible in one sitting.’

the last chapter

There you are, racing towards the suspenseful climax of a crime novel, or maybe you’re enjoying it so much that you’re holding back a little, not wanting it to finish too soon. You gauge how much is left, at least a couple of chapters, time for one more stunning plot twist. But wait, what’s this? You turn a page and it’s the end. No more novel and what you thought was the last chapter is the first chapter of the author’s next novel. I find this so annoying that I have been tempted not to read the next novel out of sheer pique. After all if I like the novel I’ve just read, of course I’ll look for the author’s next one. I thought ebooks might be exempt from this practise, but no, I’ve been caught out there too. And this kind of advertising is counter-productive in another way. Last night I downloaded a sample chapter of a novel because I couldn’t remember if I’d read it or not. I had, and wondered why it was still on my wish-list. And then I realised, I’d only read the beginning – presumably advertised at the end of an earlier novel. That was nearly a lost sale.